Secrets Not Told
by Jasper winked
Summary: Name? Bella Swan. Age? 17 years. I think. Home? What ever flies by my fancy. Not that I can be picky. As of this second, it's Forks, if Your Highness wants to know. Little, tiny details that still manage to rule my life? Yeah... I have wings. DISCONTINUED
1. Meet the Bird Freak

**A/N: This is one thing I'm going to clear up: Bella is part of the Flock, she's not Max or Angel or Nudge or anyone else. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Maximum Ride or Twilight. I never did and never will own either of them. **

_Chapter One--BPOV_

Oh right, excuse me. I should introduce myself. But, let me tell you, when you've just escaped from a dog crate that you've been in for the past three years, introductions are the last on your mind.

I'm Bella. Just Bella.

Nope, I don't have a last name. Why? Uhh, maybe because my parents were some test tubes in a laboratory?

My life must sound really strange to you right now. So I'll explain.

I was raised in the School. A horrible place, I can't even begin to explain it. Filled with dying mutants and white coats.

There I met my family. Max, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, the Gasman (Gazzy), Angel, and Total. All of them were like me. And by that I mean that they had wings too.

I'm an avian-American hybrid. 98% percent human, 2% bird. And guess which part gave me the wings?

Max, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel are all avian-American hybrids. Total is a talking dog. He just can't shut up; I'm completely serious. (And if you heard the things he would talk about you'd try to strangle him too.)

I probably sound crazy, but let's continue. Now, we all escaped from the School when I was young with the help of a white coat, a good one. Or so I thought. His name was Jeb.

For four years we lived in a house—yes, a real one. We lived with Jeb. Erasers (wolf mutants that can look like human supermodels. One word: lethal) occasionally attacked, but we were fine.

Then one day Erasers came and attacked. They grabbed Angel. Max loves Angel. I love her too. She's my little sister. My little, mind-reading sister that's would be just like my real sister if I actually had one. And so I grabbed her back and tossed her to Max.

They captured me instead. And I was in the School again.

Three years passed. Three years full of tests. Horrible, pain-filled tests. But that wasn't the worst. I found an old friend there.

Jeb. He was there.

At first I couldn't believe it. Though, slowly, I accepted it. I hated him from then on. For betraying us. His was our father but that gap that he had filled emptied again.

For all the time I hoped that the Flock hadn't been captured. And for those three years they never were. I also spent my time planning an escape.

And here I was, flying away, free. No guard or white coat had even noticed.

So what was my plan now? Find the Flock. And try not to be killed along the way, of course.

I'm sure you're thinking; _finding your family will take minutes, why not go to Disney World now? _If you're thinking that, then you don't get a thing. The Flock could literally be anywhere. Yeah, so I had some work cut out for me.

But now I just flew. Can you blame a girl for wanting to stretch her wings?

I would have to find a way to find the Flock. Though I could randomly search towns. Who knew, I could get lucky.

Right now I was somewhere in the US. That was about all I knew.

_Why not land in the first town you see and register for school? _The sensible part of my brain suggested. _You can see if Max and the gang are there and if they aren't you can gather some info to help you. _

**A/N: No, Bella doesn't have a Voice in her head. That was just her thinking.**

I landed on a highway road, walking in the slight drizzle. I folded my wings under my shirt and put on the windbreaker I had bought.

Max, before I had been captured, had given every one of us a lot of money saying that incase we got split up we would need it. She didn't know just how soon I would be needing it though. So buying food wouldn't be a problem. Buying additional clothes wouldn't either. And if I were going to enter school I would have to have several outfits so no one would get suspicious.

I would also need a truck to get around. The less expensive car, the better.

I looked ahead, hoping to see a sign introducing whatever town I was going in. There it was, about 5 feet away. I had no problem seeing it with my raptor vision.

_Welcome to Forks, Washington_

Underneath it listed a small number: the population. So here I was, in a town with a weird name and a population smaller than the width of my wings.

_Well, Forks, let's hope that you can deal with the likes of moi. _

**A/N: Well… opinions? Like it? Love it? Hate it with a passion? **

**Bella is kinda OOC, like in ****Daughter of the Ocean**** but I mean, if you take shy, blushing Bella and mix it with someone who has had to fight Erasers every day of her life and deal with betrayals and pain, well, you get my version of Bella Swan in this story. **

**Bella is going to be a kick-butt kind of person, but she's going to be cautious and a bit clumsy and she'll still blush. Tell me if that's too OOC. **

**As for when she says that she has no last name, you'll find out how she comes up with Swan in the next chapter when she enters school. **

**Also, moi is French for me. And lastly, does anyone know any powers that Bella can have? **

**REVIEW! Please? For moi? **


	2. Oh, the Joys of High School

**A/N: The second chapter! –insert applause-**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or Maximum Ride. I think that I've said this before, but whoever-you-are-with-the-bad-memory, there you go, I've said it again. **

_Chapter Two--BPOV_

_I have to go to school. I have to go to school. I have to go to school._

The thought kept repeating in my head.

School. What _had_ I been thinking?

***

I pulled onto the road that lead straight to Forks High, following the traffic. Forks High looked like a clump of buildings all made out of the same maroon-colored bricks. One word could describe it: normal.

No, there were no terrifying weapons.

No, there were no white coats.

No, there were no dog crates.

Then why did I feel like this was the worst day of my life?

Oh right, I was going to _school_.

I parked my car—one that I actually bought, not hotwired—and scanned the area. You know there's something wrong with you when you say you're scanning the area instead of just glancing around.

Then, spotting complete normalness, I walked somewhat shakily toward a small building marked FRONT OFFICE. Inside it was warmer but cramped. The carpet was an unappealing orange color and plastic chairs lined the walls. Leaflets were scattered around.

I noticed a red-haired woman manning a desk in front of me.

"Hello?" I asked, fusing false cheerfulness into my voice.

"May I help you?" she questioned in return. Inside I bristled at her tone but I managed to keep my emotions out of my voice.

"I'm the new student, Bella."

"Of course. What's your last name, Isabella? I need to put it on my forms," she answered, brushing away the fact that my name was Bella not Isabella.

"Uhh, last name?" _Dang! What do I say? I don't have a last name because I'm pretty sure I've been living with mad scientists for half of my life?_

In the mean time I shifted my wings uncomfortably under my sweater.

"Oh, my last name's Swan," I lied, making something up on the spot.

Then I realized what I had said. I have _wings _on my back. And supposedly my last name was _Swan. _Oh, the irony.

After a couple of exchanged sentences and a few fake smiles on my part I was out the door.

I glanced around, looking at my map to find the way to my first class, English.

I got there and looked around. Every teenager in the room was staring at me.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer," I mumbled to myself, too low for any of them to hear.

The teacher, a balding man named Mr. Mason, directed me to a seat in the back of the class and I obediently followed.

I sighed, thinking that I could avoid all of the curious stares by sitting in the back. It turns out that regular humans can twist their heads around to stare at me even when they should be facing frontward _without getting detention_.

I know, they really should've gotten detention.

I glanced down at the reading list, glad that I was smart (more survival-wise than book-wise though) and none of these books would be a problem even though I had barely read any of the ones on the list. When you're on the run you don't exactly get the time to return the books to the library.

The bell rang and I stood up, hoping vainly to escape before anyone came over.

It was too late. A gangly boy with skin problems had already pushed past everyone and was now standing in front of me.

"Isabella Swan?" he asked nervously.

"Bella." _Now can you please go away?_

"So, Bella," he smiled. "What class do you have next?"

"Umm… Spanish." I kept my replies to purely one-word answers so _maybe_ he would get the clue and go away.

"Oh." His face fell. "Do you want me to show you the way there?"

"No thanks," I smiled politely but couldn't keep the grimace of my face when I turned my back on him and hurried off.

Soon I began to recognize a few faces in each class and a girl who sat next to me in both Spanish and Trigonometry invited me to sit with her at lunch.

That was how I came to be with a girl chattering insistently into my ear as I walked into the crowed cafeteria. Jessica—I was pretty sure that was her name —was content to let me by with only a few "hmmm"s in her conversation. She was shorter than me but had dark curly hair that probably made up the few inches she didn't have.

She motioned me to sit down at a table full of people and began introductions. There was Mike—someone I was probably going to avoid due to his unhealthy interest in me, Tyler, Eric (the gangly boy in English), Angela—probably the nicest person I would meet all day, and Lauren. Needless to say Lauren glared at me like she could actually see the wings.

Jessica was still talking a mile a minute—if I could fly a mile for every sentence I would be in Hawaii, I swear—and every once in a while people would come up and introduce themselves to me. Apparently word got around fast and I was Isabella Swan to them. And each time someone would say, "Swan" I would try to muffle the laughs just threatening to come out.

Eventually Jessica stopped talking long enough to ask me why I was laughing. That stopped my chuckles.

"I was laughing?" I answered, trying to blow it off as nothing.

She just shrugged and turned away.

I was getting nervous again. The lunchroom made me feel slightly claustrophobic, with tons of students covering ever exit way. _If Erasers attacked…_ I shuddered and glanced around the room to look at something that would take my mind off that topic.

My gaze landed on a table in the corner, isolated from the rest of the school population. It held 5 students.

They looked nothing alike except for their beautiful, angular features and golden eyes. Of they boys, one was lanky and lean, with honey blond hair. Another was built like a weightlifter with curly, dark hair. The last was the most boy-ish with messy bronze hair—perhaps the most beautiful of all of them too.

Of the girls, one was tall and statuesque, with blond hair that tumbled down her back in waves. She looked truly angelic except for the expression on her face—or lack thereof. The other was petite; she reminded me of a pixie. Her short black hair pointed in every direction, yet it suited her. She had an aura around her—one of excitement maybe.

And then it happened.

Well, I should explain. You see, while I was at the school they had wanted to increase my brainpower. The experiment hadn't worked the way the white coats had wanted it too. Instead I had _flashes_. I spaced out and saw things. Sometimes they were pictures; sometimes they were words. But it was always information I got.

No, there was no voice in my head or anything and no, I didn't see the future. These flashes gave me information. Like, maybe I would get the name of the place I was flying over or a picture of the new 6.5 Eraser version that they'd created.

This time, I got one word.

**Cullen.**

Immediately I snapped out of my haze and wondered, _Cullen? What's that? A name? A thing? Is it good or bad?_

I was so worried I didn't even realize that Jessica had noticed in which direction I had been staring. In my direct line of gaze were the 5 beautiful teens.

"Oh, you noticed _them_," she said to me.

"_Them_?" I asked, my voice just as confused as the expression on my face.

"Those are the Cullens," she informed and all the breath went out of me. The walls twisted sickeningly.

_The Cullens? As in 'Cullen'? From the information flash I had just gotten?_

I felt out of breath and stunned.

_Cullen. What was that supposed to mean? Why did I need that information? Were they planning to kill me? Oh god… _

"Jessica, I'm going to the bathroom," I told her and I stumbled out of there. I didn't even make it to the bathroom. As soon as I got into the empty hallway I sank to the ground and leaned on the cold tile wall facing the doors to cafeteria.

I breathed shallowly in and out, trying to calm down. It didn't work. Maybe to outsiders I looked fine. But inside… inside I felt like a tornado had swept across me.

I tried to distract myself, thinking of memories that held the Flock. Of course I had to settle on the worst one.

_Blood. It was everywhere. I heard the shrieks of Erasers and all I thought was, _Good. You deserve it. _But I could also see the cuts and bruises that we were gathering. _

_I kicked an Eraser in the stomach and kneed another one that had been trying to sneak up on me. _

_Then I heard it. _

"_Ahhhhh!" _

_It was a shriek of pure terror. And it came from Angel._

_I searched desperately and finally I saw the head of blond curls matted with dirt and blood. An Eraser was holding her tightly; she couldn't escape. _

_No one could help. Iggy was battling two Erasers at once and at the same time trying to pinpoint where Angel was._

_Max was fighting, taking out every Eraser in her path trying to get to Angel but they blocked her and she couldn't get through all of them fast enough to make sure the Eraser that held Angel wouldn't fly away. "Angel, baby, hold on!" she screamed._

_Fang was fighting back-to-back with her, trying to kill the Erasers closing in on them._

_Gazzy was half dead already, dropping a bomb he and Iggy made on some unsuspecting Eraser's head with all the vigor he could._

_Nudge was fighting as hard as she could but there was a long gash on her leg dripping blood. She was getting lethargic. _

_Where were all these Erasers coming from?_

_I was the only one that had a chance of getting to Angel. And I took it. I beat my wings, wincing at the cuts that littered my body. _

_Carefully, trying not to make a sound, I came up from behind and smashed my right fist into the Eraser's head, just enough to make him stumble away, releasing Angel._

"_Go, Angel!" I screamed. "Go!"_

_She flew fast, but then looked back at me. Her eyes widened in terror. She opened her mouth to say something but then—_

_An arm pressed into my neck, cutting off my air supply. A low voice chuckled into my ear, "Saving your little sister? How nice. Seems like you'll be the one to come back to your old home then."_

_I couldn't even reply. _

"_Bella!" screamed Angel again, alerting all of the Flock._

_Iggy was panic stricken, shouting, "Where is she?"_

_Fang tried to wrestle his way through bloodthirsty Erasers to me but I could see the despair in his eyes that were usually void of any feeling._

_Gazzy flew as fast as he could to me but an Eraser twice his size appeared and blocked his path._

_Nudge looked wildly around, trying to see where I was. Once she did she started to struggle furiously to get to me. _

_It was all in vain. _

_As I started to black out I heard one last yell._

"_Bella!" Max screamed, panic in her eyes. Her mouth was wide open in an 'O' shape, like she couldn't believe that one of us was being captured. "We'll come for you! We'll—" _

_And everything went black._

I shuddered and wiped a tear from the corner of my eye. Slowly I stood up, leaning on the wall for support. I had to find them. But there in the back of my mind was a little, traitorous thought. _What if they don't care? And that's why they didn't come save you when you were in the School?_

I brushed it and my emotions away and straightened up. Taking one last breath I walked in and sat down again at the table with Jessica and her friends.

She continued on with our conversation about the Cullens as if I had never left.

I learned their names and who was together and all the things that she thought were weird about them but I didn't learn anything of value.

As I got up to go to Biology I took one last glance at their table. Edward Cullen was staring at me with an unfathomable look in his eyes.

I practically raced to Biology.

***

When I got to Biology Mr. Banner directed me to the only empty seat in the classroom.

Right next to Edward Cullen.

Internally wondering what he was going to do the minute he realized that some puny little mortal below his class was going be sitting next to him, I walked over and dropped my bag to the floor.

He immediately shifted over to the edge of the desk as if he could be contaminated with who the h-e-double-toothpicks knows what. Discreetly I sniffed my hair. It smelled of the strawberry shampoo I last used.

What was with him?!

I only grew angrier throughout the period when he continued to act that way. I gathered up the courage to verbally smash him to bits but the words died in my throat as soon as I saw his face.

His beauty overpowered me, but that wasn't what was so frightening.

It was his black eyes, which stood out so strikingly against his pale skin. They were filled with hate, but most of all: repulsion.

I flinched and in a second the bell rang. Edward Cullen was out of his seat before I even got a chance to pack up my bags and stare dumbly after him.

I tried to convince myself that it was nothing, that I had done nothing wrong. But I had a lingering feeling… that it was all about me.

Gym passed in a blur and soon I was driving my truck to a spot concealed by trees. I slept in the truck—hey, at least it isn't a tree. I slept fitfully though, haunted by Edward Cullen's black eyes filled with a feeling that shook me to my core.

By the next day I was furious that Edward Cullen had treated me that way. I had done nothing!

_Ever heard the phrase 'innocent till proven guilty', Edward Cullen?_

_I don't think you have. _

**A/N: Sorry, sorry, sorry for the late update! I don't feel that great and I have school (die, homework, die) so… yeah. **

**Thanks to all the people that helped me with Bella's powers! I can't list all of you, sorry, but THANK YOU! A million of cookies go out to each of you!**

**And here are Bella's powers that I'm completely sure about:**

**-Mental shield**

**-Information flashes**

**-She can find people (only works on humans.) It's sorta like she feels their presence and where it is.**

**-She can control sound waves, like she can make a sound seem like it's coming from somewhere else. (It's not Gazzy's power.) **

**So, uhhhh, review?**


	3. It's all a Test and Apparently I Failed

**A/N: Yeah, yeah, it was a late update. SORRY! I had writer's block and all that good—cough, bad, cough—stuff.**

**Disclaimer: Twilight and Maximum Ride. Are. Not. Mine.**

_Chapter Three--BPOV_

What do you think school means?

Here, I looked it up in the dictionary for you:

_An institution for educating children._

Now want to know the real definition?

_A place kids go to mindlessly learn things that will probably not help in life, also where one's Biology partner glares at said one like they would like nothing more to kill said person and then doesn't show up for a week afterward. _

Okay, not really. But my definition makes a lot more sense, seeing as that was the one that actually happened.

Edward Cullen didn't show up for five days afterward our little one-sided glaring match. The whole week I grew more suspicious and definitely more confused.

What did he have against me? For some reason I had a growing thought that his disappearance was based solely on me.

So when I walked into the cafeteria on Monday I was feeling confident that he wouldn't be there, sitting in that little table in the corner. My eyes swept across to that spot anyway, to check for reassurance.

I gasped, seemingly not drawing in enough air. He was there. Posture straight, eyes trained on some faraway scene, his fingers picking apart his uneaten lunch.

"Don't you want to get something else?" Jessica asked, pointing out the only thing in my hands: a bottle of lemonade.

"I'm feeling a little sick," I admitted.

Mike seemed a little too concerned but I hardly noticed. As soon as I had admitted to not feeling my best, _his _eyes flashed to stare at me.

They weren't filled with the same murderous expression that they last had when I had seen them. No, if anything they were filled with curiosity.

I made a disgusted noise in the back of my throat. Couldn't he just hate me and get over it?

I sat down with Jessica and Mike. Conversation was normal until Jessica whispered, "Edward Cullen is staring at you."

"Didn't his mother ever tell him that staring wasn't polite?" I muttered under my breath, glancing up to look at Edward when I was sure that he wasn't staring at me. He head was turned to face his family but one side of his mouth lifted up, as if he was smiling at something he had heard.

Lunch ended too soon and I walked down the hallway towards Biology.

He wasn't there. Figures.

So I sat down and doodled on a notebook. I drew a girl with wings coming out of her back, 6 people surrounding her. 6 people she hadn't seen for 3 years. **A/N: If you don't get it, she's drawing herself and the Flock.**

"Hello," said a quiet voice—velvet, muted. It was beautiful, musical.

I whipped my head up to find Edward Cullen staring at me. His bronze hair was swept into disarray perfectly, his eyes were golden and entrancing, his pale skin was oddly luminescent.

He continued. "My name is Edward Cullen. You must be Bella Swan."

By that time I remembered all too clearly what had happened a week ago. I wasn't going to pull that stunt but I wouldn't—couldn't—be polite. I nodded curtly and turned around to face Mr. Banner.

But no, he wasn't going to give up that easily. "Are you liking Forks, Bella?" he asked.

I nodded again but under my breath I muttered, "Oh, I'm not."

Edward heard—_how did he hear that? I mumbled under my breath!_ —And asked again, with something like concern in his voice, "What don't you like about our town?"

The words were out before I could stop them. "The people are just so polite, don't you know? That's the best part—the murderous glares that clearly show how much they like me." Every word dripped sarcasm.

"Bella," he sighed my name, sounding completely sincere and apologetic. "I'm truly sorry for my behavior last week. I had been given some bad news and it was unforgivable of me to take my anger out on you."

It was my turn to sigh and I thought about turning down his apology but I wasn't one to be _that _mean.

"Fine, I forgive you," I said, still a bit put out. I mean, he glared at me like he wanted to suck out my blood and here I am, accepting his apology?

"What is wrong with me?" I muttered to myself.

Edward shot a look—one that clearly asked if I was in my right mind—and asked, "Are you okay, Bella?"

Ha, nice question. I've just escaped from a lab filled with mad scientists where they performed experiments on me and he was asking me if I was _okay_?

Then again, he didn't know anything.

I snorted. "I'm fine."

We worked on the assignment but finished a lot earlier than the rest of the students, probably because of how smart Edward was.

I sighed, glad that the schoolwork was over.

He interrupted the silence. "Why did you move to Forks?"

"I'm not at liberty to discuss that?" I said, but it ended up sounding like a question.

"Bella…" He glanced at me with deadly golden eyes, trying to draw the truth straight out of me, I supposed.

It worked.

"My father—he's a police officer—had to go to a police convention in California and my mother went with him." I made up on the spot.

"Your parents?" he asked cautiously

"Je—Charlie and Renee Swan," I growled out. I couldn't believe myself—that after all these years, that after all the betrayal, that at first, without thought, I still considered Jeb my father.

I was sure my face showed all the emotions so I turned away from Edward—I didn't want him to see my weakness.

"That doesn't seem fair," he continued, as if I had never turned away. "They could've taken you with them."

I barked a cold, harsh laugh. "Haven't you heard? Life isn't fair."

"I believe I have heard that saying before," Edward agreed dryly.

"That wasn't the saying that I first thought of," I disagreed.

"Oh?" He sounded interested now, but was playing it off as nothing,

"The saying I thought of was, 'It's all a test,'" I quoted, from none other than Jeb. "But I wouldn't expect you to hear of it."

The bell rang and I was out of my seat before Edward could respond.

***

_Jeb knelt down beside me in the small dog crate I was in. _

"_I'm so sorry you have to be treated this way, Bella. I really am."_

_I shot him a look that clearly said, 'Then sorry doesn't mean the same thing I thought it did.'_

_He sighed, looking dejected. "I miss them times when we were in our house with the Flock too, but you have to understand. This is all a test, Bella."_

"_Get away from me, Jeb," I snarled. "You lost my good opinion of you the first time I saw you here being chums with the white coats."_

_I then imitated a white coat's voice: "Oh, I've wanted to get my hands on Subject Fourteen for years!"_

"_Bella, listen to me," he pleaded._

"_If I were out of this cage you would be six feet under already," I threatened._

"_Fine." He stood up and brushed imaginary lint from his coat. _

"_Got blood on your coat, Doctor?" I muttered under my breath._

_Jeb turned and walked away, stopping only once to call back to me. "It's all a test, Bella. You have to understand. It's all a test."_

***

I woke up the next morning in the cab of my truck in a very cramped position. Already I could tell this was going to be a bad day.

I just didn't know how bad. So, like the clueless person I am, I decided to go about my usual schedule.

I slipped on some not-too-dirty clothes and drove to some place to eat breakfast. I then drove to school, enjoying the breeze that would feel so much better if I was up in the sky, flying.

Jessica greeted me as I pulled in and I said a normal, "Hi."

Classes were boring, with a capital B. I listed to the teachers talk, but mostly didn't do anything.

Soon it was lunch. I got in the lunch line when Ms. Cope signaled for me to come towards her.

"Ms. Cope?" I asked.

"Your father called, he wanted to check on you, see how you were doing at a new school."

My first thought was _father? I don't have a father!_

I tried to save the situation and put on an excited expression. "Sure, I'd love to talk to him, I've missed him too much!"

She smiled and bought my excuse. "You can use the phone in my office."

I walked into her office, Ms. Cope behind me. She silently handed me the phone.

"Hello?" I asked.

Who would it be?

Maybe the Flock? I felt that traitorous feeling, hope, in the pit of my stomach and knew somehow that I would be disappointed.

"Why hello, Bella," a throaty voice chuckled. "Miss me?"

It was Ari.

**A/N: -Cue the creepy music- Dun, dun, dun… Cliffhanger! Oooh, so what'll happen? Ha, I'm being evil, but it had to happen. **

**And I've gotten so many alerts but not a lot of people have reviewed. People, how hard is it? Just type 'good' if you're that lazy. **

**Sorry for the late update, by the way. :(**

**Now, review! Seriously, or I'll sic Cerberus on you. He'll happily jump out of my other story, Daughter of the Ocean, to help me. So please review! 'Cause I really don't want to sic him on anyone. **


	4. Thanks a Million, Rosalie

**A/N: So I was/still am in a place with no Internet for the three-day weekend. Hopefully I'll go somewhere with Internet and this will be posted. **

**Disclaimer: Okay, you all get this by now. I suppose I still have to do his though. Just can't make my life easier, can you? So I don't own Twilight or Maximum Ride. The end.**

_Chapter Four--BPOV_

"Ari?" I gasped. Every time I thought of him, I thought of the little, blond-haired, blue-eyed kid that ran around the School, following the father that had no time for him. I just couldn't think of him as the cold-blooded monster that taunted me with his wolf face every day there.

"Thought you would've forgotten me by now; the way you ran off so suddenly gave me the idea that you didn't really like it here," he mocked.

"What are you—" I cut myself off suddenly. "How did you find me?"

Desperation. That was all I heard in my voice. I was sure he heard it all too.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" he chuckled. "We'll _always _find you, Bella. It's no use hiding."

I didn't say anything—I _couldn't _say anything. My breath came in short gasps and I felt like I was about to faint.

Ari continued. "It's hopeless, you'll die—"

I cut him off. "What has Jeb said about this?"

His voice darkened and he growled, "Don't. Talk. About. Jeb."

Some other courageous part of my brain thought, _ooh, touchy_ but I didn't say that to him.

"Well, tell Jeb that I miss him so much," I sneered, regaining my composure. "The painful tests that he gave me at the School 24/7 are really something to long for."

"Cocky, Bella?" Ari sneered back. "I wouldn't be that way."

"Why, oh Wise One?" I retorted sarcastically.

"Because you're going to say hello to those metal dog crates soon again."

I had no answer for that and Ari knew that he had beaten me.

He continued. "Too bad for you, isn't it? We're coming for you, Bella. Enjoy counting down the time. I know I will."

_Click._

He had hung up.

"Honey, are you okay?" asked Ms. Cope, looking at my dazed expression warily.

"Fine," I lied weakly. She didn't believe me but she let it slide.

I walked back into the cafeteria numbly as the bell rang with a _ring!_

"Are you okay?" asked Mike, noticing my expression.

"Fine," I mumbled again, walking away towards my next class, Biology.

_With Edward_,_ Mr. Bipolar,_ I groaned mentally, not in the mood for his mood swings, which were seriously giving me whiplash.

I entered Biology and sank into my seat, sitting rigidly as I thought of another horrible possibility.

What if Ari attacked me during school? What if he blew my cover as a normal person (as if I was _ever _normal—cue the disbelieving sighs) and harmed the kids here?

_What would I do then?_

Biology passed in a daze; I jumped at every little sound whether it was a chair scraping across the floor or the sound of wind beating against the window I was sitting right next to.

"Bella?" a beautiful voice asked.

I glanced up into the face of Edward. He was staring at me in concern, his forehead creased slightly.

"That was the third time I called your name," he continued. "Are you alright?"

"Fine," I insisted for the third time that day and ignored him for the rest of the period. I was sure he knew what I was doing so as soon as the bell rang I was out of my seat and through door.

I walked slowly down the hallway towards Gym, every worry clouding up my mind.

"Bella?" Edward asked suddenly from behind me.

I whipped around, gasping heavily. I hadn't even heard him come up.

_What if he had been Ari? _

And in that second, instead of seeing Edward and his family behind him, I saw 5 Erasers approaching me, their vicious jaws open; ready to swallow me, their eyes glinting murderously. And, where Edward was, I saw Ari, with human features slowly morphing into more wolf-ish ones.

My heart beat faster—almost too fast—and I whispered, "No… no."

"Bella?" a velvet voice broke through my vision and I saw the Cullens again with their more than perfect features.

"Tell me what's wrong," Edward demanded.

"Who died and made you Max?" I snapped back.

Then I slapped a hand over my mouth.

_Did I really just mention Max? Crap…_

"Who's Max?" asked Edward, temporarily forgetting his other question.

"I have to get to Gym now!" I exclaimed with a falsely cheerful smile, trying to change the subject. Unsuccessfully, I might add.

"Wait." A pale white hand shot out and latched onto my wrist, stopping me in my tracks. His hand was cold—as if he had stuck it in a snowdrift. I shivered. But there was also a hum of electricity, as if energy was being passed from his hand to mine. _Livewire much, Edward? _

"Who's Max, Bella?" he asked again, searching my soul with those deadly golden eyes.

I completely snapped.

"You know what, Edward? I'm tired of this! You—all of you—just go around trying to pry into my life like you fit there! Newsflash: you don't! I've been dealing with this for 17 years; I can survive on my own!"

"Dealing with what?" But this time, Edward didn't ask it. Alice did.

"That's none of your business," I hissed dangerously. My voice was cold. "Go. Away."

"Why?"

Clearly they had no sense of self-preservation.

"You don't belong here. It's dangerous. People like you don't belong in my kind of world."

"Your kind of world?"

"Yes, my kind of world," I repeated, sure fury was showing through every inch of my face. "It's not for the faint-hearted. And I wouldn't want to put you through that, would I?" I smiled dangerously.

"No, you don't belong in that world," I continued. "And if I were you I would get my nose out of this before it's too late."

"And that would be when?" asked Rosalie tauntingly.

"That would be when you're dead," I replied, my voice ice. "Or worse."

I whirled away and stalked off, deciding not to go to Gym since I was so riled up I probably would knock someone's head off.

Who knew, in my world, it could happen.

_Idiotic Cullens._

***

Sitting in my truck, which was parked a little way into the forest so that people wouldn't spot it, I decided to go fly for a bit. I hadn't stretched my wings in a while and the itch to fly was driving me crazy.

I took off my parka and went into the forest so no one would see me with wings sticking out of my back. _Oh, yeah, those wings you see? That's just part of my Halloween costume. _

And then I was up in the sky.

I feel bad for you, not being able to feel those air currents pushing you even higher in the sky. It's pure bliss.

I mean, I can't imagine only flying in airplanes. Those big, bulky metal things work half as well as my wings—or less.

Wait; I never told what my wings looked like, did I? Well, they look like wings, that's about as descriptive as I can get. (Hey, I never said that I had an English degree!) But the color—it's really weird. They're brown, like my hair. And they have _red _streaks in them. Red, yep. Told you I was weird (as if you haven't figure that out by now.)

But when I flew now, I didn't think about colors or those dumb airplanes, I just flew.

Eventually, when I looked down onto the forest, I saw a gap in it, a clearing. In the center was a big white house.

_Well, let's not scare the little humans, shall we? _I thought snidely and turned around, to fly back to my truck.

As soon as I landed on the ground, I freaked out. I had forgotten all about Ari while I was flying but now I remembered everything perfectly.

"Darn it!" I growled to myself.

_What should I do?! _I thought hysterically. _Do I stand a chance kicking their butts? Have my fighting skills improved? —Should I try that new move that Max was teaching me before I was captured? _

_Should I move? Away from Forks?_

_No, _I thought to myself. _They're expecting me to run away, not stay and fight. So that's what I'll do. This game of cat and mouse has gone on long enough. _

***

Look, I don't really know about you personally, but when you get 3 hours of sleep, you definitely don't feel like going to school, right? Especially if you slept those 3 hours in a cramped truck cab and the rest of the time searching for the wolf mutants that want to murder you. It kills your good mood instantly.

Yet the Erasers were a no show so I, like the idiot I pride myself on being, decided to go to school. Which happened to probably be one of the worst decisions on my life. No joke.

While driving to school I tried not to fall asleep at the wheel (hey—I got _**3**_ hours of sleep! Give the bird kid a break), which was nothing new.

Parking at school, I got out of my car lethargically but something woke me up immediately. It was the squeal of tires on cement; tires on a car that was heading my way.

Adrenaline made me realize several things at once. First, I would have barely any time to get out of the way of the oncoming car. It was heading too fast and I would have to reveal my cover. (Actually, scratch that. I sound like James Bond.) Second was Edward Cullen, all the way across the parking lot, staring at me in horror. I could almost see the words forming in his mouth: "Not her." I didn't have time to wonder what he was talking about because the third thing caught my eye and made me gasp.

It was an Eraser, grinning at me wolfishly. He mouthed, _an instant death. You should be happy. _

Whoa… My head exploded in questions. Did the School—the Erasers really—set this up so I'd die? In a car crash, something no one would think twice about?

Then something hard and cold hit me from the wrong direction and long, white hands shot out protectively in front of me, stopping the van that was just inches from my face.

And suddenly I was looking up into the concerned face of Edward Cullen.

"Bella?" he asked. "Bella, are you okay?"

_How did he get over so fast? _I wondered, ignoring Edward and the crazed shouts of students around us. _That was impossible… inhuman._

"Bella, we're calling an ambulance; you probably need to get your head checked out," Edward said, startling me right out my daze.

A hospital meant bone scans and blood samples. I was pretty sure my blood wasn't like any other humans' and that my bones were lighter and less dense, which would immediately tell the doctors that something was off about me.

"No," I gasped. "No hospital."

"You could be injured," he argued in that impossibly appealing voice.

I made up the first thing that came to mind. "I have a phobia of hospitals."

He looked at me like he was wondering if that even mattered so I quickly pasted on a terrified expression.

Finally, he sighed and nodded. "Fine, I'll take you to my house and have Carlisle look you over."

Assuming that Carlisle was a doctor and deciding that it was the best I got—at least he couldn't do an x-ray or anything—I nodded too. "Okay."

He went off—to tell the teachers I assumed again—and I rested, still lying on the cold pavement.

I was so tired, but I didn't want to rest, after all that Eraser… I sat bolt up right.

Erasers, right. I was still in mortal peril then.

Of course, Edward came back then and picked me up bridal style with me protesting loudly over shoulder and put me gently in his Volvo.

"Exactly what do you think you're doing?" I asked him crossly.

"Driving you to my house where Carlisle will check you over. Unless you know the way to my house," Edward smiled smugly.

I huffed but soon enough we were in front of a beautiful, white house that I recognized from my flight earlier.

"You have a beautiful house," I commented with forced calmness.

"Thank you," Edward answered courteously though he was worried, I could see it in his eyes. Why, I didn't know. "Now let's get you inside."

He picked me up again—and again I protested—though then I was in the living room, which was just as beautiful as the outside of the house. All of the Cullens were sitting in the room, including a person I hadn't met. She radiated motherly concern, though she looked to young to be a mother with her pale face and caramel curls falling past her shoulders. I took her to be Mrs. Cullen.

A door slammed and Mrs. Cullen stood.

"That would be Carlisle," she smiled at me and walked gracefully out of the room. I was left reeling.

Why did every Cullen look like an angel? Why did they have so much grace and why did they all have those appealing voices? Did they all have that impossible speed? Like Edward?

Something was going on here and I would figure it out.

And then someone walked into the room. His blond hair was tousled, reminding me of Edward's, his skin was pale, but one thing stood out. That was his white doctor's coat that immediately brought up memories of the white coats.

_A white coat jabbed a needle into my arm. "Let's see if this does anything," he said, relishing my scream._

_A white coat stared at me disdainfully. "Subject Fourteen threw up again."_

_A white coat turned to me at the sound of a beep. "You have 1 minute to finish the maze."_

I flashed back to the present but my terror overwhelmed me and I couldn't think rationally.

In the back of my mind I faintly heard Jasper Hale desperately whisper, "I can't calm her down. She's so terrified that she's rejecting the waves of calm I'm sending."

Still not thinking, I screamed and tensed, trying to find an exit, to get out the house.

"Bella?" Edward sounded upset—no, agonized.

I flinched and did the only thing on my mind at the time. I ran.

I was half way up the road, unusually calm after my panic. Except one thing was on my brain: what would the Cullens think about my panic? They would want an explanation.

Carlisle wasn't a white coat, but I would have to avoid him if he brought up all of those memories. I shivered.

And then something I never thought would happen did.

Rosalie Hale pulled up next to me slowing down her jog. She had been running to catch up with me.

"Bella?" she asked, concern layering her voice.

I gaped at her. Didn't Rosalie hate me? I hadn't done anything to her of course, but she was always glaring at me. Not that any of the other Cullens were that much friendlier.

"Rosalie?" I managed to ask.

"Yes." She sounded… I didn't know the emotion clouding her voice. "I was worried about you. What happened to make you react like that?"

I shuddered and she took the movement in. "Look, Bella, I've experienced some horrible things in my life. If you need to talk… you can come to me, okay?"

"Sure," I lied. Her eyes narrowed and I was almost sure she could tell that I was lying so I decided that now was as good of a time as any to pry for information.

"Rosalie, have you ever tried out for the track team?"

"No," she answered, cautious. She knew I was going somewhere with this.

"You should," I encouraged. "Edward ran so fast, I could almost say impossibly fast, when he managed to save me from being crushed by the van. You would probably have that same talent, right?"

Rosalie looked furious and I knew whatever had made her come out after me was now gone.

"Bella…" but now the sound of my name wasn't filled with concern. It was a warning.

Then abruptly Rosalie changed. A gleam came into her eye.

"You're hiding something too," she remarked calmly.

I had to control my gasp so it didn't tip her off. I was pretty sure though that she heard it though.

"It's one of those need-to-know things," I answered a lot more coolly than I felt. Inside I was going, _WHAT? How could this happen?! And I have Erasers after me… thanks, Rosalie. Thanks a lot._

"That's nice, but we're going to find out either way," Rosalie replied.

"I guess that makes two of us," I said and I could've sworn that she growled.

If I looked at her now I would've seen the furious expression on her face—it was worried, strangely, and almost… murderous. But, as it was, I didn't look at her so I didn't realize how deep into this I was.

"Well," I said, "I've got to be going. Please tell Carlisle that it wasn't his fault. He just… brought up some memories, that's all."

"Fine." Rosalie was angry, I could tell. More than angry, actually.

I started walking away, leaving her there.

"See you in school," I called over my shoulder.

"That we will," she called back and I could hear the challenge in her voice.

Soon I was out of sight of their beautiful white house and I began planning.

At school I would try to avoid the Cullens; no use giving them more clues about what I was hiding. Except then I would have a hard time trying to figure out what they were. There was the Internet though. Maybe that would give me some information.

_You have no idea who you're up against, Cullens._

As it turned out, neither did I.

**A/N: First, please read the A/N at the top of the page if you didn't. It'll explain some things.**

**So this was a longer chapter than usual to make up for my late update. If any of you think that Rosalie wouldn't have run after her, oh well. I thought she could have because Bella's terror reminded her of her human past. Does that make sense?**

**Now… you know what do to… unless you have amnesia (no offense)… so please review! It'll make my day. **


	5. FYI, my Classmates are the Undead

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait. I was sick on Wednesday (grr!) and had writer's block. And I practically died (my math teacher killed me with the quiz she sprung.) But read on!**

**Disclaimer: God, how many times do I have to say this? I don't own Twilight or Maximum Ride. Happy now?**

_Chapter Five--BPOV_

Driving to school I ran over my plan. The number one rule: avoid the Cullens.

My car's engine spluttered loudly as I parked and I could tell that it drew everyone's attention. Including the Cullens.

_Dang it. Looks like my plan is failing… already. _

Hurriedly I opened the door and rushed into the English classroom 5 minutes early.

"Well, Ms. Swan, I must say that you're unusually early," the teacher mocked me, referring to the way I usually came in a couple minutes late every day.

I placated myself by retorting; "You should be waiting for the apocalypse then."

He sighed and muttered, "Fine, Ms. Swan," and continued setting up his materials.

_Score! _Then, _whoa_, I thought to myself. _When did I become such a teenager?_

Classes passed fast and soon it was lunch.

"Hey guys," I said, addressing everyone at the lunch table with me. "I need to go to library for some research. I'll see you in class."

"Research?" asked Jessica with a bit of surprise in her voice.

"For what?" asked Mike right after her.

"Okay," agreed Angela, who I was really close to hugging right now for not prying.

"Uhh, that English report we have to do," I said the excuse that was at the top of my head. "Now, if you'll excuse me…"

I walked away muttering about high school kids and how nosy they were.

I mean, really? I didn't know that I was _that _important. I should be flattered—but I'm not. Too bad for them.

The library was quiet and the head librarian gave me a smile as I walked in. I returned it and sat down in a corner that had a computer sitting on the desk in front of me. On the bottom of the desk were pieces of gum; used gum. I tried not to grimace.

Google came up and I sighed in relief. I wasn't a Nudge who was practically a computer genius but I could work with Google. I stretched my shoulders, wishing I could unfold my wings—it was getting annoying hiding them under my parka—and got down to work, grumbling.

In the search bar I typed in 'the Cullens.' So, let's see… what exactly are you hiding, Edward Cullen?

A lot of hits came up; Cullen must be a popular last name. Eventually I typed in each family member's separate name and scrolled through pages of info.

_A supermodel… naw, even though Rosalie could be one._

_Rob Pattinson… remind me why this came up?_

_Alaska… ookay…_

Then…

_Ah-ha! Got you! _

I mentally celebrated. The page told me of a family of 7—or 5, it wasn't that clear. But one name was definitely clear—Carlisle Cullen.

The info continued. It appeared Carlisle Cullen and his family had lived in Forks… 50 years ago.

_What?! _I shouted in my head. Then Carlisle—if this was the same blond, handsome doctor that I knew, well, sorta knew—would be in his 80s at least. And the Carlisle that I saw looked barely in his 30s.

_This must be a different Carlisle,_ I assured myself. But there was a little, nagging suspicion in the back of my head. Carlisle wasn't a common name. And most people didn't have a big family and wouldn't move to Forks in the middle of a year, like the page said they had.

Freaked out by my discovery I left the computer and searched for a book to read. Incidentally the book I picked reminded me faintly of the Cullens.

The man on the cover was pale and—though not that beautiful—had that same I'm-weird-yeah-I-know vibe coming from him, even though it was only a book cover.

And one thing stood out about him.

His eyes were blood red.

Because of course the book I had picked was Dracula.

**A/N: Look, I've never read Dracula or seen the cover so this isn't true—not that I know of anyway. Sorry.**

After reading a few pages I got curious about vampires. The whole Transylvania accent thing seemed faintly unrealistic to me anyway.

So I got back on the computer and typed in 'vampires.'

A couple of sites came up. Some mere just false—I could tell right away. Because, _of course_, vampires were scared of garlic. I mean, come on, give me a break.

Then I came across the site that immediately got my attention. It was a site of Quileute legends. One in particular stood it.

It was about the 'cold ones'. Blood drinkers, the site said. Or more commonly known as vampires. I started reading. It appeared that these 'cold ones' had a few distinct qualities.

They had superhuman speed… pale skin… were freezing cold…

And suddenly every fell into place. It was that feeling that you get when you find the exact puzzle piece you need and it fits perfectly. Or, let's say, when you find out that your incredibly gorgeous classmate that you sorta like—scratch that part actually—that has been threatening to discover the fact that you're not completely human, is a vampire.

As in one of the living dead.

_Wait, _I thought to myself. _Am I really telling myself that Edward and his family aren't human? That they're vampires? Creatures that doesn't exist? But, _a different side of my brain argued, _**you're **__not supposed to exist. _

_True, _I admitted. _And it certainly does fit everything. The speed, the changing eye colors, the pale skin, the freezing skin temperature, the secret that they're hiding, and the page about Carlisle Cullen._

_Which would mean that it would be the same Cullen family that was here 50 years ago._

"They didn't just move here," I whispered. "They just moved _back_."

I sat in stunned silence, going over my discovery. This left one thing.

Time to confront them.

Lucky me.

I got up, my fingers trembling, quickly closed the Internet, and threw Dracula in my backpack.

Turing around, I opened the Internet again and before I could change my mind, I erased the history of all the web pages I had been too.

Then I quickly walked out of the library, too frazzled to smile goodbye to the librarian.

The bell rang suddenly, startling me, and I jumped a mile high in surprise.

Hearing a chuckle behind me, I turned around and saw all of the Cullens behind me. I narrowed my eyes at them and ran to Biology.

Slamming into my seat, just on time, I noticed that for once Edward was there before me.

As Mr. Banner gave our assignment I knew that sometime soon Edward would try to start conversation. I could slip up about my past, about what I knew, so I thought of a plan. A good one, if I do say so.

_You will have no chance, Edward Cullen._

Well, before we go on, you need an explanation. You know I have information flashes. I have another "power", if you will call it that. I can manipulate sound waves. It's sort of like the Gasman's power but he can only imitate voices. **A/N: I'm pretty sure he can only imitate voices, but if I'm wrong, don't get mad.** I can make any sound and it doesn't have to be a voice. It can be the sound of a lion roaring, for example and I can throw sounds all over the place, like a ventriloquist. I think it's pretty pointless and I don't use it that often but it was perfect for this. It's also easy to do, like molding clay. That's the way I think of it, except I'm molding sound waves, not clay.

"Bella—" Edward started, turning to face me.

Before he could finish, I quickly, using my power, manipulated sound waves, and made a voice (one completely unlike my own), whisper into Edward's ear, "Hello, Edward."

He whipped around in his seat, but seeing no one behind him, got a mystified look in his golden eyes.

"Bella?" he asked.

I got the feeling that he thought I had something to do with the whisper.

"What, Edward?" I asked, giving him an innocent smile, and jotting down some notes.

When he was about to start talking again, I quickly made the sound of a lion roar which was so low only he could hear.

He soon turned suspicious though when I wouldn't talk to him and the random sounds continued.

"So do you—" Edward started _again_.

He just didn't get it, did he?

I remembered Edward's tone of voice—which was so completely velvet and musical—and quickly made another voice _in his tone_. "Hello, my name is Edward," the product of my manipulating sound waves, said to the real Edward.

You'd think that hearing your own voice talk to you wouldn't be that bad but he had this confused and sort of scared—if I believed that Edward would ever be scared—on his face.

The bell rang soon and I ran out of Biology as fast as I could, sliding down to lean on the hallway wall as I laughed.

"What are you laughing at?" a high, tinkling voice asked me. Alice.

She stood in front of me, with Jasper at her side, glaring down at me as if I was a threat.

"Jeez, I'm not going to hurt her," I told him exasperatingly.

"What?" he sounded shocked.

"Whatever," I muttered, rolling my eyes. "Anyway…"

Emmett, Rosalie, and Edward had come up behind Alice and Jasper. It was almost as if they had planned this… knowing them, I wouldn't put it against them.

And suddenly, confidence swept through me. Almost as if someone was encouraging me to confront them. I narrowed my eyes, staring at my hands awkwardly.

"Hey," I started just as suddenly, looking at them. I had no clue where I was going to go with this confrontation but…

Another scene replaced the one if front of my eyes. _An information flash_, I noted in some back corner of my brain.

But when I concentrated on the actual info flash, I gasped. It was the picture of an Eraser—but an improved Eraser. The last time I had seen an Eraser they had had bulky, clumsy wings that didn't work that well.

This Eraser though… the wings were formed better and I could see that flying would be much easier for him.

"I'm so dead," I breathed, coming out of my information flash and bolting upright.

The Cullens were staring at me curiously and I dismissed it, they already knew something was different about me.

But if I were correct, this batch of improved Erasers would be coming for me today. I didn't have much time.

"Alice?" I asked, some hidden instinct prompting me to ask her this. "If you knew the future, would you stay and fight or run?"

"I—I," stammered Alice. I could see all of them staring at me, their mouths hanging open.

"You know what? Forget I ever said anything," I interrupted. "It's my decision anyway."

"Bella?" asked Emmett strangely. "Are you sure you're okay?"

_I'm mentally fine, if that's what you're asking, _I thought snidely.

"I'm fine, don't worry about me," I answered.

"Bella?" It was Rosalie.

"Look, guys, don't worry," I sighed. "This stuff is normal. I've been dealing with it since I was born." _Born, if that's what you can call it. _A snarl coated my face. I continued. "Just do yourself a favor. Don't get involved."

_What am I doing? _I realized suddenly. _Am I really giving them clues?_

"Bye," I called over my shoulder, rushing off.

_Control yourself, Bella. No one can know. No one. You're fine on your own. You were on your own for those three years in the School, why is this any different? _

_It isn't, _I reassured myself. _You're a bird-mutant; your classmates are vampires. There's not much of a difference._

Except that I didn't drink blood.

"Whoa," I realized, speaking out loud.

_The Cullens are vampires… _

_Vampires drink blood…_

_So why haven't they hunted or killed anyone? Of course I don't know that they haven't, but it should have been on the news… or they just covered their tracks very well… I'm not sure I want to find out._

Gym was horrible—I wanted to stretch my wings. I was feeling all cooped up in the sweater I was wearing, who wouldn't?

Finally school was over and I escaped to my truck and drove to the place I usually parked my truck. It was a little ways into the forest so no human would see me.

I took off my sweater and flapped my wings experimentally, sighing.

_All better._

But when would I find Max? So my wings got cramps, I could deal with it. I hadn't seen the flock in over three years; I was ready to tear my hair out now.

Why weren't they searching for me?

_Maybe they didn't want you in the Flock, _a little voice whispered. _You were never anything to them._

And when that doubt struck me, so did the Erasers.

"So," a familiar voice rasped into my ear. "Vacation's over. Ready to go back home?"

Ari.

"Are you freaking kidding?" I hissed, twisting out of his grasp and assessing the situation. "The vacation has just started."

Air was in front of me, already 100 percent hairy monster. 14 Erasers surrounded us.

I smirked, hiding my fear under a confident cover. "They sent 15 of you out to get me? Wow, I'm flattered."

"Yeah, don't let it get to your head," another Eraser snarled, advancing, as did Ari.

**A/N: So I can't remember if the Erasers really talk that much when they fight the Flock but that's how it is my fic. Sorry.**

An idea came to my head; I smiled wildly. It was 15 Erasers against little old me. I hoped that they had happened forget that little old me had supernatural powers.

Again, I "molded" sound waves, remembering how tense Ari had been when I had brought up Jeb, his father.

"Hello, son," said Jeb's voice, which I had thrown so it appeared to Ari that Jeb was talking to him from behind.

Ari whirled, gasping.

And that was when I attacked.

I threw a quick kick to Ari's head, flying upward, too late to see if he had been knocked down or not.

The Erasers rose confidently in the air and I realized that their ability to fly _had _been improved.

"Now, I'm sure most of you want to die before your expiration date," I started, "so I'll help. Which one of you wants to go down first?"

Which, I'm pretty sure, was not the right thing to say since they all attacked.

One flew forward so fast I wasn't sure if I saw right and threw a punch to my face. He hit correctly and my face snapped back, on fire.

That was when I started seeing red.

"Listen here, buddy, no one gets with doing that to Bella Swan," I snarled.

I grabbed him, ignoring his struggles, and kicked in between his shoulder blades, something that I knew made Erasers go limp and crash to the ground.

The satisfying _thwack! _I listened to was interrupted as he hit another Eraser and brought him down too.

_Domino affect, _I thought proudly.

Then a hairy wrist wrapped itself around my throat and bad memoires resurfaced. I struggled even harder but my air supply was being cut off.

_I have big lungs, _I reminded myself. _It's the product of being a bird-kid. And if I have big lungs I don't need to breathe as much. Now get him to stop choking you!_

I reached out blindly with my arms but found one being twisted around and pinned to my back.

_Okay, so we're going to do this the hard way._

I struggled even harder, managing to land some light punches with my one free arm.

I could hear the other Erasers laughing in the background. It only fueled me further.

I jabbed one elbow into the Eraser's side and kicked both of his shins before he let go of me with a small hiss.

I turned around quickly, purposely hitting him hard in the face with my wings and he dropped.

My wings groaned from the protest but I continued. More cuts and gashes appeared along my arms as time passed.

I flew loops, trying to confuse the Erasers. It didn't work that well seeing as they could fly better now. But I was more used to flying long hours and their wings tired easily.

I targeted one that was slowly flying, aimed a high kick at his head, and bringing the other Eraser that had been following me to his level, flew up fast, smashing their heads together.

Ouch. Too bad my sympathy isn't reserved for Erasers.

"Poor you," I mocked the Erasers. "Have you thought about giving up yet?"

Boy, I just keep saying the wrong things, don't I?

Ari snarled from behind me, and before I had time to react, aimed a strong kick at my back.

I snapped forward, almost losing control of my flight and wobbled, trying to fly away from him. My back stung like… you get the idea.

Ari followed almost leisurely.

I flew with some trouble, glancing back. All the Erasers—which, I thought proudly, wasn't much—were behind Ari and they were all flying slowly, almost as if they knew that I was beaten and they all were going to enjoy taking me back to that torturous prison.

The forest we were flying over had gaps in between trees and strangely enough I saw seven white blurs moving between the trees.

I wondered what they were but pain struck again and my task was back; I needed to get away.

The Erasers sped up their flight and I counterattacked like a trapped animal, throwing punches ad kicks. But I just didn't have any energy and they knew it.

I was losing altitude but as long the Erasers lost too it didn't matter. We were skimming the trees now and I had somehow managed to injure most of Ari's remaining posse.

"Let's fast-forward to the end," I said, bluffing since I was pretty sure that I was losing. "It's where you all fly away beaten."

Ari seemed to look around him, noticing none of the Erasers with him.

I smirked, about to let most of my defense down, foolishly thinking that I would win this.

Ari propelled himself towards me in the air faster than I had seen and I flew backwards but it was no help.

I felt a needle prick and looked down in dream-like horror to realize that he had just injected something into me.

"Till next time," Ari smiled wolfishly and turned, flying away.

I couldn't respond, just watched him go. My wings were burning with unimaginable pain, locked in place. I couldn't move them _at all_. I wondered if Ari had injected me with poison but he had said, "Till next time." So there was going to be a next time. And of course I had to be alive for that time.

But I had other worries on my mind. Like how much it would hurt when I smashed into the ground because I couldn't even flap my wings though they were locked in an outward position.

Tree branches and leaves battered my body and I saw both of my wings lose more than a couple of feathers. I also tried to pull my wings but even more pain flashed across my wings and they stayed in the same position: stretched straight outward.

I was getting even closer to the ground and had to resist the urge to close my eyes in fright. Strangely enough, I noticed that I was quite close to those seven blurs that I had noticed earlier and now they looked like… people?

I wondered if I was going to crash into them but the pain filled my head once again as I got closer to the ground and to the people.

I got even closer. _Please let me not crash into the people, _I prayed. _How am I supposed to explain that I have wings?_

I closed my eyes, waiting for the impact…

But I wasn't falling and there was no impact. _No impact…_ No, someone was holding me. Someone had caught me.

_Someone holding me? _I opened my eyes in complete panic.

Edward Cullen stared down at me in his arms, my wings outstretched so that he and his family that surrounded us could plainly see them.

You could only imagine my facial expression.

**A/N: Like it? Love it? Hate it with a passion? Seriously, I want to know. **

**And I know that I've told many of you that the Cullens wouldn't find out what she was till later but this idea came into my head and it just seemed to fit so well that I had to write it this way.**

**If any of you are confused, here's the summary of this chapter: Bella found out what the Cullens were at school, went home, Erasers attacked, she lost the fight (sort of) and starting falling because she couldn't fly. The Cullens were running home from a hunt and Bella fell into Edward's arms with her wings out because she couldn't close them (Ari gave her that needle shot, remember?) The Cullens don't know EXACTLY what she is, but now they know that she had wings.**

**I know that this chapter is filled with stuff so tell me if it's too filled. And how did I do on the fight scene? It's my first time writing one so detailed. **

**REVIEW!! Since I can't send Cerberus from ****Daughter of the Ocean**** after you because I gave him to DarknessXAnime (she asked for him), I'll send… a hungry Mrs. O'Leary! Please review?**


	6. Secrets Kill, Oops, You're Already Dead

**A/N: I have a pet. For people who want to know what it is, pick one of the following:**

**Tiger. (Hey, you never know, right? Plus my mom could cook steak for him.)**

**Rabbit. (Cute, furry… cue the "Aww!")**

**Mammoth. (Wouldn't fit in the apartment… how cares? Except the landlord of course… *snort*)**

**Cat. (Puurrrrrrr…)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or Maximum Ride, okay? I get it already. Back off. **

_Chapter Six—BPOV_

Okay, so you're a genetically mutated freak with wings and vampires—that have just discovered that you have wings—surround you. What do you do? No clue? Well, that makes two of us. In any case, I was pretty sure that this was a lose-lose situation.

"U-umm…" I stuttered but another burning pain went through my wings and I flinched, looking downward.

The needle was still stuck in my arm.

_What did Ari even stick in me? Poison? _I wondered. _I don't really want to die._

Adrenaline washed through me at the though of going down just because Ari stuck a needle in my arm. If there was one thing I was not going to do, it was die before I had found the Flock.

I shuddered as the pain rippled through me again.

_Bella, do something, _I commanded myself. _Ignore the pain. It's just a message and right now you're ignoring all calls. _

"My arm," I hissed furiously. "There's a needle in my arm. Get it out of my arm." **A/N: Bananavamp thought of this line. I thought it was really good and she let me use it. Thanks. :D All credit goes to her.**

The Cullens didn't react, still staring at my wings.

I made a one-second decision. You know, the kind of ones where your brain isn't working at the time.

I let out a breath and in one swift movement, pulled the needle out of my arm.

Forgetting that vampires surrounded me. Yeah, my bad.

A tiny splotch of red liquid spread over my skin right where the needle had been. Edward's eyes darkened but stayed topaz—sort of. Jasper started growling.

Alice was the first to react. She ran—still at human speed, might I add—over to Jasper and laid a hand on his arm, forcing his eyes to look into hers.

I sighed, wondering where all of my strength had gone. But deciding that I could get away, I flipped myself out of Edward's arms, tumbling a few feet away awkwardly.

"Bella," he gasped.

The other Cullens whirled to face me as my name fell from Edward's lips.

I felt regret wash through me at thought of what I was about to do. I had to get away though.

"Regret?" murmured Jasper wonderingly, glancing sharply at me. Alice stood by him but her eyes were unfocused, her expression vague. It looked like she was miles away.

I wanted to ask what was wrong but I strengthened my resolve.

"Get away from me," I whispered lowly, dreading what I was going to say next. _"Bloodsuckers."_

I didn't want to see their expressions; I whirled and ran. I knew they would've caught up to me in a second but they were still in shock over what I had said.

And they probably thought I hated them now.

_Bloodsuckers, _I had called them.

So if they didn't think that I hated them they probably hated me now.

**JPOV (Jasper's POV 'cause he has something to say)**

I watched as Bella whirled and fled, the word 'bloodsuckers' still ringing in my ears.

She knew what we were… my body instinctively tensed at the fact.

_Was she a threat to us? _I wondered.

A strong burst of emotion from Edward made my head whip around, cutting off my thoughts. Self-loathing,

"She's right," he hissed. "That's all we are: bloodsuckers."

"Son," Carlisle stepped forward. "I—"

"Edward," I interrupted Carlisle, nodding in apology to him. He acknowledged it and I continued.

"I felt an emotion from Bella before she spoke: it was regret."

"Regret," murmured Carlisle, trying to dissect everything that had happened and fit the pieces together.

Edward stared at me.

_It was regret, Edward. I could feel it. _I replayed the scene in my head, including the emotions whirling through everyone in that moment.

He winced but I could still feel the strong emotions coming off of him and invading me.

"I'll be back at the house," he informed us hoarsely and in a flash he was gone.

Alice leaned into to me after he had gone. "I love you, Jasper."

I could feel sorrow moving off of her. Alice and Edward had always been close and I knew that she was lamenting the fact that Edward was in such a mood now.

"I love you too, Alice. I love you too."

But still…

_Regret… _something wasn't adding up. Well, something other than the fact that Bella Swan had wings.

**BPOV (Right after she ran away)**

Forming a plan, I ran to my car, trying to fold my wings in. The pain had lessened—probably because the needle wasn't injecting more of that stuff in me—but I could only fold them a bit. It looked like I had a backpack underneath my raincoat.

I could deal with that, I decided and jumped into my truck, starting it up quickly.

Pushing 60 miles per hour, I was sure that was as fast as I could go. But soon enough I was pulling into the parking lot of a hotel in Port Angles.

**A/N: I'm not quite sure how to spell Port Angles… yeah. That's about it right now. **

"Hello, how can I help you?" the receptionist inside asked, glancing sharply down at me.

"I would like to get a room for two nights," I replied. If I had decided to sleep in the forest the Cullens would have probably found me. I wasn't sure if they could trace me to Port Angles but the hotel room was worth it if they couldn't.

Soon enough I was directed my room. I flopped on the bed, wincing when my wings hit the bed.

_Oh, I am so going to kill Ari, _I thought venomously. _There's no doubt about it. And when I do—oh, it will be painful. There's no doubt about that either. _

The next day I skipped school and stayed in my hotel room. By the time night came my wings were almost back to normal. I was thinking that whatever Ari injected into me was made so I wasn't able to use my wings. In any case, it was painful and more than annoying.

The second day I lounged around, skipping school again. I was afraid of what would happen if I did go to school. I slept through the night too, strangely enough. The Flock visited me in my dreams and by the time I got up I was more determined than ever to find them.

Checking out was easy and normal—at least normal for someone who hasn't stayed in hotels except for one or two times—and so was the drive to school.

Welcome to Forks High, home of the Spartans, the sign in front of the school told me.

_Back to school, Bella, _I told myself firmly. _You have to face the Cullens some time._

"Bella, you're back," exclaimed Mike as soon as he saw my truck in the lot.

_Great, draw the attention on me, will ya? _

"Uh, yeah, I was sick," I said uncomfortably. "I've got to go to class now though, sorry."

I could still feel the five burning stares emanating from the only silver Volvo in the parking lot.

_Stupid shiny Volvo owner. And that includes said Volvo owner's siblings._

I made up class work in all of my classes—were the teachers _purposely _trying to drown me in homework?—and Jessica chattered about all the things I missed on the way to the cafeteria.

A thought stopped me short though when I entered the cafeteria. The Cullens had lunch and I wouldn't put it past them to interrupt me and start all the questioning that I was sure was to come.

"Bella, you okay?" asked Jessica, bringing me out my thoughts.

"Yeah," I answered queasily. "I think I'll just get a lemonade today though. I don't think I can eat anything."

"Okay," she shrugged, not concerned.

I bought my drink and sat down slowly at the table.

Conversation irrupted around me but I was quiet, not in the mood to chatter. More like in the whole let-me-freak-silently-so-I-can-figure-out-what-the-vampires-a-few-tables-down-are-going-to-do mood.

Surprisingly I finished my lemonade quite fast and got up to throw it out in trashcan, which was near the center of the room.

I was right in front of it when Alice Cullen intercepted me.

"Hey Bella," her wind-chime, cheerful voice greeted me.

"Alice," I nearly growled in return at her.

She looked taken aback at my temper but quickly continued. "We have some things to go over I would say."

"Okay, listen up," I started. "You're going to go about regularly, ignoring me, and I'm going to do the same. That way we don't have to deal with each other."

"But she knows our secret," Rosalie interrupted from across the room. My head whipped around, pin pointing her at the Cullen's regular table.

"And you know one of my secrets," I retorted. "I'm not going to tell. I would just get a one-way ticket to an asylum, and," I snorted, "believe me when I say I have enough trouble in my life already."

All of them were staring at me strangely and I realized none of them knew that I had very good hearing.

Edward pictured up on my wording though. "You said 'one of your secrets.' That means you have more."

I glowered at him and he smiled smugly.

"Am I right or not?"

"Oh, you're most definitely right," I snarled, "but none of you are figuring out any more of them. And," as I spoke I solidified my decision, "in two weeks or maybe less, I'll be moving out of Forks. I won't be in your hair anymore."

Alice was staring into space again and I waved a hand in front of her face. "Hey Alice?"

"Don't leave," she pleaded, coming out of her daze, shooting a look at Edward that I didn't understand.

"Don't be an idiot," I argued. "None of you like me. Rosalie wouldn't bat a lash if she heard that I died, Emmett doesn't really care either way, I'm sure you don't want your family all messed up because of me, Jasper's only concerned as long as you're safe, and Edward… I'm pretty sure he hates me by now." I shrugged. "What have you all got to lose? Nothing. So don't worry. I'll be gone soon enough."

"But—" she argued.

"Bye Alice," I murmured, effectively cutting her off. "If I ever stop in Forks again after I leave, I'll visit."

_Not._

And even if the 'not' was mental I was sure they could hear it in my tone anyway.

***

"So what were you doing, talking to Alice Cullen?" Jessica wanted to know immediately when I got back.

"Oh," I tried to brush it off as nothing, "we have to a reading project together for English."

She looked dissatisfied with the lack of details but nodded understandably.

I got ready for Biology and lagged behind everyone as we walked together down the hallway.

People pushed past me to get to their next class. I paid no attention to them.

"So meet us at our house at 5:00, I have an understanding that we have a reading project to do," Alice Cullen whispered in my ear as she swept by with Jasper, "and we also need to talk."

I could only stare wordlessly after her.

I had feeling that I had no choice whether I wanted to go or not. The look in the Cullens' eyes clearly said 'Come or else.'

_Well, _I sighed. _I'm in for a long night. _

***

Okay, confession time: I skipped Biology. I'm pretty sure you know why already. Edward was my lab partner and to tell you the truth, I was pretty sure I wouldn't be able to stand a whole class period with him. It would be awkward and… well, awkward.

By the time it was 5:00 I was pacing around nervously, wondering if it was a good idea to go to the Cullens' anymore.

_Cut it out, Swan, _I told myself, internally giggling at my last name, and made a snap-second decision.

In one powerful stroke I unfurled my wings and shot straight upward, deciding that it would be easiest if I just flew to the Cullens.

Minutes later I was flying over their white mansion in the middle of the dense forest.

_I won't freak out the vampires with my wings, _I promised myself internally so after I alighted I folded in my wings and went to knock on their door.

Just as my hand was about to touch the wood the door whipped open.

"Hey Bella, I've been expecting you," Alice seemingly smiled at an inside joke, motioning me inward.

I gulped.

_No turning back now._

I smiled at her and hoped I seemed the very picture of ease before stepping inside and walking into the room Alice directed me into. All of the other Cullens were circled in the crème, tastefully decorated room.

Carlisle Cullen stepped forward but kept a careful distance. His topaz eyes sparked with a curious light and he seemed calm.

"Hello, Bella," he said, flashing a 100-watt smile. "I assume you want to know a bit about us and vise versa."

I nodded silently but before I could speak Alice stepped into my line of vision.

"We'll ask questions first," she told me.

"Alice," Carlisle shot a glance at her. "Be polite."

"No, it's fine," I nodded, politely disinterested at her.

In the inside I was screaming in nervous.

_What questions is she going ask? What if she asks about how I got my wings? She'll obviously do that—what if I slip about the School? Or what if I tell them about the Flock—no, no, no…_

A calm feeling washed over me, somehow soothing. I felt better but kept my defensive gesture.

"Was this a new trick of theirs?" I mumbled to myself, not really realizing that I was speaking out loud.

"What?" Mrs. Cullen—or Esme—asked curiously. She seemed to radiate motherly concern but I was too on guard.

_Did I really say that out loud?_

"Nothing," I dismissed. "Just I was nervous and suddenly I felt really calm. I keep my guard up—it scared me for a second."

I glanced around ashamedly before admitting, "I thought one of you had something to with it."

Silence.

"Interesting," Carlisle analyzed me with his eyes.

_I hate being looked at like I'm an experiment, _I thought somewhat heatedly before reminding myself that they were probably just interested in someone like me.

_Interested in a freak, _I snorted mentally...

"Well, can we start asking questions?" Alice asked impatiently, interrupting the awkward situation.

I grabbed the lifeline gratefully. "Sure, Alice."

Her next question took me completely by surprise.

"Can we see your wings?"

"Why should I let you?" The defensive question was out of my mouth before I could stop it.

"Sorry," she looked down. "I should've known not to spring that on you. I just thought that your wings were really cool."

"Cool?" I snorted at Alice a bit venomously. "Cool? They're the mark of a freak. At least the only slightly abnormal thing you do is drink blood."

Crap. Not the right thing to say. Definitely not the right thing to say.

"We _just _drink blood?" Rosalie's melodic voice broke the silence. "Like it's not such a big deal to drink blood?"

She tossed her blond hair over her shoulder and glared at me with her golden eyes set deep in her flawless face.

But for some reason her words struck a chord in me.

"What?" I retorted. "Like it's not a big deal to have wings?"

"We. Drink. Blood," she stated clearly. "Clearly you don't get that—"

"No," I interrupted her. "All of _you _don't get it. You might think, 'oh, she has wings, that's cool but not really important' but you have no clue at all. Worse things have happened to me in my life than to you in the two of yours."

"Really?" her voice took on a new level. "Do you know what's it's like to lose your humanity unwillingly? To—"

"And," my voice rose with hers, "do you know what's like to not even have that humanity in the first place? Sure, I might be a part human but have I ever had a normal human life? At least even no you have people to love and people who love you in return."

I paused, but not for long. "You don't even know what it's like to lose all you had. And when you find the one person from your family with the people you despise the most—what do you do then? When all the people you've ever loved have either disappeared or betrayed you?"

My voice lowered dangerously now, "But it's not like it'll matter anyway. If things go according to plan I won't even be alive."

I glanced around. Rosalie was staring at me, almost in shock but there was a glint in her eyes, like she was trying to decipher me. Emmett was the picture of shock sitting next to her. Jasper seemed to have trouble dealing with my haywire emotions and Alice was far away again, staring at something I doubted I would ever see. Carlisle and Esme looked at me with concern… I tried not to let their glances penetrate my careful shield.

Edward was the worst. He looked desperate, and there were disarming emotions in his golden eyes, trying hard to drill something into me. His beautiful face seemed tortured.

He didn't even know me though. Why would he feel all that?

"You won't even be alive?" he whispered at last.

"Why don't I start asking the questions now?" I started, ignoring what he had said.

When none of the Cullens objected, I continued. "So… you drink blood, right?"

"I thought we had already cleared that up," Emmett answered amusedly.

"No," I frowned, thinking of how awkward this was going to be. "I mean, you don't drink human blood, do you? I thought you didn't because then surely all of you wouldn't go to school and Carlisle wouldn't work in a hospital."

"We drink animal blood," stated Alice calmly.

At the same time Edward muttered, "You're perceptive, aren't you?"

"Okay," I answered jokingly, "that's good. I didn't really want to be dinner or something."

"How can you take this so calmly?" Jasper sounded shocked. "You're not afraid of us at all."

"Maybe because I know who I should really be afraid of," I retorted.

_Like hungry wolf mutants intent on torturing me to death and bringing me back to the School…_

"So Alice, this is going to sound really weird," I changed the subject, "but do any of you have… super powers or something?"

"What exactly do you mean by 'super powers'?" She sounded guarded.

"Like you can read minds or something." I was thinking of Angel as I answered.

"I can read minds," interrupted Edward. He was looking at me as if he was afraid I would break down from the shock.

I snickered. "Seriously? You must be so annoyed by now."

"What?" He looked so perplexed that I couldn't help but laugh again.

"But, Edward," I started, serious again, "wouldn't you have figured out by now?"

"What?" he sounded annoyed this time and when I looked up at him he was pulling his hands through his bronze locks with visible frustration.

"Haven't you figured out by now that I'm a mental shield?"

Silence.

_Maybe it wasn't the brightest idea to tell them…_

I made a silent promise to myself.

_Sorry, Cullens, you're not finding anything else out about me. Zip my mouth and throw away the keys. _

Little did I know how hard it would be to keep secrets from them. But they didn't know—those very secrets could kill.

**A/N: So I seem to cram a lot of things into my chapters. If you're confused, ask questions in your review. Also, how did you guys think I did with Jasper's POV? I'm not sure how it went, I just felt like I should put it in.**

**And if some of you are freaking about her moving, don't worry. It'll all fit together.**

**So, Mrs. O'Leary couldn't come to threaten you guys into reviewing so I WAS going to send Edward to dazzle you into reviewing… but then I decided that you would attack him and Bella would be mad at me… so I was like, "I'll send a grizzly bear!" And don't worry, if the bears tries to attack you, then I'll send in Emmett. He wants an irritable grizzly anyway. ;)**

**Please review! Tell me your thoughts, oh, and happy late 4****th****! I hope you had a good day!**


	7. DEADLY IMPORTANT!

**A/N: **_**MUST READ! DEADLY IMPORTANT! Like the answer to why-in-Hades-hasn't-she-updated-in-so-long-important! **_

**Okay, so here's the deal. I'm going to sleep away camp in like two days—it's close to my last year there—and camp is for three weeks and there isn't Internet. That means I can't go online for three weeks, AKA, no updating. **

**After sleep away camp I'm going to my family's house that's in the country. There's no Internet there either unless I go to the library. (And I'll obviously bring my own computer to the house.)**

**So when I get out of sleep away camp I'll finish writing the updates. Then I'll either try to post them when I go to the library with my computer or when I actually get home.**

**Therefore, the waiting period for updates for all of my stories (my first priority is ****Daughter of the Ocean**** then ****Secrets Not Told****) is about 4 and ½ weeks.**

**I repeat; the waiting period for both updates will be about 4 weeks.**

**I WILL UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES (UNLESS I END UP IN THE HOSPITAL) STOP WRITING THESE STORIES. **

**I mean it; I'm not abandoning my stories. I love them—okay, not **_**LOVE**_** them, but close enough—and I WILL NOT ABANDON THEM.**

**For all of those who are willing to wait for my updates and not give up on me, I'm giving you a teaser. :)**

**Please, don't give up on me. I'll be back before you know it. And now, for all of my reviewers who deserve the teaser despite my horrible updating, read on! **

Okay, before me continue, here's a little fact. I can lie; in fact, probably my whole life would be considered a lie. But I cannot, absolutely cannot, lie to vampires.

"What?" Edward spluttered, staring at me.

_Time to start acting._

I widened my eyes and smiled a 100-watt smile, my attempt at confusing them. "Nothing, Edward, I didn't say anything."

"She said she was a mental shield," interrupted Jasper, sneaking a glance at me.

I smiled wider, but it wasn't a nice smile; it was the predatory smile that clearly said, "Shut up."

"That's not what I said," I told Edward, cutting off anything Jasper was going to say next. "I said I was a _metal _shield, you know, 'cause I'm a bird freak and weirdly strong so if you tried to hurt me it would be like denting a metal shield and—" I continued rambling till Edward broke me off.

"She said mental shield," he decided. Turning to me, he remarked with his golden eyes fixed straight on me, "You know, you're a bad liar, Bella."

"Says the person whose whole life is probably a lie," I muttered.

"And yours isn't?" he shot back.

When I didn't answer, he sighed smugly. "Is your name even Bella?"

_No, it's probably Subject 14… to the School anyway._

"As a matter of fact," I said, glaring at him, "it is."

"Sorry." He held his hands up in front of him before running one through his messy bronze hair.

"Mine turn to ask questions," I announced, changing the subject. "So what to you eat?"

"Animal blood," Carlisle answered calmly, waiting for my reaction.

I wrinkled my nose; blood wasn't exactly my favorite thing and decided to ask another question.

"Are there any other mythical creatures in Forks?"

**A/N: Well, hope you liked the teaser. It was the beginning of the chapter from where the last one left off.**

**Now, I won't be able to respond to your reviews but please, anyway, REVIEW! **

**And please, don't give up on my story. I'll be back soon enough, just wait 4 weeks—okay, that's a long time, I have to admit it is, and I won't be angry if you guys immediately go and delete me from your story alerts list, but I'm not giving up on this story. It will continue as soon as I get back. So please don't give up on me. **

**I might be asking a lot, but mostly, the only reason that I continued writing the 2****nd**** chapter and 3****rd**** and the 4****th****—well, you get my idea—is your commentary. **

**So, maybe I am asking too much. But anyway, I'll be back in about 4 weeks with the next chapter, waiting to see who's here with me.**

**See you in August! And since I feel like I just made such a serious speech on a subject that most of you might think is small, I'm going to brighten things up. So go out and have fun! Try and count how many silver Volvos you see and maybe even book a flight to Forks! Maybe you'll see Edward—hey, you never know!**

**So, yeah, guys, bye for now. I've annoyed you long enough but I have one more thing to say that I've repeated over and over: I'M NOT GIVING UP MY STORIES!**

**Now, bye! And I'll see you in August! **


	8. It's Been a Pleasure, But I Have to Fly

**Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own Twilight or Maximum Ride. Check back next update to see if I magically have. **

_Chapter Seven—BPOV_

Okay, before me continue, here's a little fact. I can lie; in fact, probably my whole life would be considered a lie. But I cannot, absolutely cannot, lie to vampires. Bummer, right?

"What?" Edward spluttered, staring at me.

_Time to start acting._

I widened my eyes and smiled a 100-watt smile, my attempt at confusing them. "Nothing, Edward, I didn't say anything."

"She said she was a mental shield," interrupted Jasper, sneaking a glance at me.

I smiled wider, but it wasn't a nice smile; it was the predatory smile that clearly said, "Shut up."

"That's not what I said," I told Edward, cutting off anything Jasper was going to say next. "I said I was a _metal _shield, you know, 'cause I'm a bird freak and weirdly strong so if you tried to hurt me it would be like denting a metal shield and—" I continued rambling till Edward broke me off.

"She said mental shield," he decided. Turning to me, he remarked with his golden eyes fixed straight on me, "You know, you're a bad liar, Bella."

"Says the person whose whole life is probably a lie," I muttered.

"And yours isn't?" he shot back.

When I didn't answer, he sighed smugly. "Is your name even Bella?"

_No, it's probably Subject 14… to the School anyway._

"As a matter of fact," I said, glaring at him, "it is."

"Sorry." He held his hands up in front of him before running one through his messy bronze hair.

"Mine turn to ask questions," I announced, changing the subject. "So what to you eat?"

"Animal blood," Carlisle answered calmly, waiting for my reaction.

I wrinkled my nose; blood wasn't exactly my favorite thing and decided to ask another question.

"Are there any other mythical creatures in Forks?"

Of course I already knew the answer: no. Duh, I mean, vampirism is pushing it but anything else, nope, absolutely not believing it.

And, of course, the answer wasn't what I wanted to hear.

"Werewolves," answered Alice cautiously.

"You're kidding."

_Or you're crazy… but I'm that already anyway._

"You already believe that we're vampires, why not werewolves?"

"Next you're going to be telling me that Total grew wings," I muttered, rolling my eyes.

"Total?" asked Edward.

"…"

"Bella, you can't just keep closing up. It's better if you tell us," Jasper coaxed.

"Look, I don't fall for any tricks. You people take what you want and leave a train wreck in your wake. I don't have time for that and I certainly don't need that."

"We're not like that." Edward walked gracefully over to me, pulling my head up gently so he could see my eyes. I turned my head away, ignoring the pull of his topaz ones.

_Yeah, well you know who is? The white coats, Ari, and Jeb… do I really need to go on?_

"And you know who is?" I pretended to be confused, tapping my fingers against my chin. "Let's see… some people I hate, someone I hate even more, and someone I wouldn't feel guilty if he died and I had the chance to save him but chose not to."

Rosalie took a breath and let it out slowly. "You hate someone that much?"

"I trusted him—we all trusted him. And then he betrayed us in the worst way possible. All he had to say when I say him was that it was all a test. That it was all for the 'greater good.' And they don't even know."

I let out a disgusted sound. "If you've ever hated someone so much for stealing away everything you loved, then you'll understand."

I looked up to Rosalie. She was staring at me. Her unusual eyes were alight with… empathy?

"Do you want to talk about it?" she offered quietly, glancing down. "I think I… I think I can relate."

I wondered what had made her mood quiet and withdrawn. Though I thought that maybe she had trusted someone once too… maybe it was part of the reason she was what she was now. A vampire.

"I'm fine," I answered as quietly. "I think I'll leave now though."

"No," Alice rushed out. "Please, don't go. Can't you stay for at least another half hour?"

I sighed. Was it a good idea to stay?

"Sure, Alice, if that's what you guys really want."

This wasn't good—I needed to distance myself from themselves. But one time couldn't hurt, could it?

She squealed in excitement but following that was an awkward silence.

"So… uh… what do you do in your spare time?" I asked, hoping to break the silence.

"Besides go to school?" Alice asked.

"Yeah."

"Baseball," she smiled.

"Uh-huh," I said with an unconvincing laugh. "Who would've thought the vampires play baseball? Let me guess, it's an American pastime?"

"Right," Jasper smiled at me.

Okay, this was pushing limits. Time to go.

"I think I'd better go now," I muttered, pushing an unconvincingly cheerful smile on my face. "I have school tomorrow."

"Bella, it's Saturday tomorrow," Edward pointed out, staring unnervingly at me with his unusually colored eyes.

_Dang._

"Well, I have a busy day tomorrow anyway," I said.

"Really?" he had a smug smile on like he knew I had no answer. "I'm sure Alice wanted to take you shopping then."

Alice got an excited expression on her face and nodded, bouncing up and down.

"Packing, probably," I gave them a guilty smile, remembering my plan to leave Forks, "and then the usual."

Alice lost her excitement. "You're serious about leaving then? And what's the usual?"

"I'm going to move in with my friends," _once I find them,_ "and the usual, staying alive and saving the world."

"Saving the world?" Emmett let out a snort. "Seems like your weekend really is filled."

"Technically, _I'm _not supposed to save the world, but I thought it would be better if I helped."

_Helped Max, _I finished in my head.

All seven of them were confused; I could see it.

I sighed and sat down on the cream carpet, crossing my legs and staring at my worn shoes. "Never mind."

Then I couldn't the scene in front of my eyes. The info-flash came so quickly that if I blinked it would have been gone. Two words flashed in front of my eyes.

**Port Angeles.**

A picture followed; the flock was racing down a darkly light alley, Max in the lead, her blond-streaked hair whipping in the wind. Fang and everyone were on her heels. Gazzy was glancing back behind them.

All I could see of the people—things?—following them was the red of robotic eyes.

My body jerked into a defensive position before the picture had even completely disappeared from in front of my eyes.

Adrenaline was suddenly pumping through my body, making my head pound and the sound of my blood rushed through my ears.

"Bella?"

I couldn't tell which of the Cullens had said that. All I heard was the beat of my heart, faster than usual.

"Looks like I'm going to have to cut this visit short," I wheezed out, whipping around and starting to sprint towards the door.

They followed me.

"Bella, what's going on?" Edward demanded.

I was on their lawn and so for a second, I turned around to face them, shedding my wind parka in the movement.

"I'm sorry," was all I said.

Then I turned around again, ignoring their stares on me.

"Bella—" he started again.

"I have to go."

With that, I lifted up into the air, my wings, well, flapping, behind me as I rose higher. The last time I looked back I couldn't see them anymore.

_Port Angeles, next stop._

I skidded to a halt on a dark sidewalk, blending in the shadows, and secured my wings beneath the parka I had put back on.

Once I did that, I moved into the sidewalk, frantically looking around. There was no one in sight, except for a group of guys heading my way.

I started going towards them, maybe I could ask them if they had seen anybody, but when I got up close, I realized my mistake.

"Hey, Sugar!" one called out at me.

They were a bit tipsy, and very rough looking. Stubble on their chins, clothes that looked unwashed and wrinkled.

I began to walk backwards, away from them. Before I could get out of their range, one grabbed my arm.

"We're a bit lonely, darling. Why don't you keep us company?"

His breath stank.

"H-have you seen anybody around?" I stuttered at him.

"Nope," he grinned raucously. "Lookin' for anyone? We'll help."

I shrank in disgust.

_What would Max do? _I asked myself.

They crowded closer to me, smiling. "Now, darling…"

_What would Max do?_

Suddenly, I struck. I twisted my wrist around in the man's hand, so I was holding his arm instead. Then I braced myself steadily on my feet, and swung him over me. He went flying (flying! Get it? Whoa—_so _not the time, Bella) and he made a sickening thud against the pavement.

"Uuuhhh," he groaned.

All of the guys slowly backed away.

"Hey." I flashed forward and grabbed the guy nearest to me. Once I got a good grip on his arm, I twisted it behind his back painfully.

"_I said_, have you seen anyone around here?A group of kids maybe?"

They all shook their heads frantically.

I twisted the man's arm tighter and he yelped. They all shook their heads again.

Disgustedly, I released him.

They all took one last look at me, before running off.

One last whisper reached me.

"_Dude, that's no normal girl. Freak."_

I stood for a minute, my mind going over his words.

_Freak._

I started walking, still searching for the Flock. Maybe…

I found no one.

_Freak._

I crumbled, sitting on the sidewalk, crying my eyes out. They weren't here anymore.

As I sat, a pure white feather floated over to my side. I instantly knew whose it was. Angel.

My sobs got louder. I covered my mouth, biting my lip.

A few yards away, parked in the shadows, was a car I didn't see. It was a silver Volvo. I also didn't see the owner, gazing at me with compassionate topaz eyes.

**A/N: OHMYGOD. I know. I finally updated. Sorry for the long wait!!!!!!!!!**

**Daughter of the Ocean**** is my first priority and I was having trouble updating that so I didn't even think about this. But my winter break is next week so I'll update this **_**again**_** and ****Daughter of the Ocean****.**

**I hope all of you haven't given up on me. If you haven't, please review. **


	9. The Line We will kill you is Never Old

**A/N: My apology for the long wait: I AM SO, SO, SO, SO, SO, SO, SO, SO, SO, SO, SO SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT! YOU DIDN'T DESERVE TO WAIT THIS LONG FOR THE UPDATE! I HAD A MAJOR CASE OF WRITER'S BLOCK! I'M REALLY GUILY… :(**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Maximum Ride or Twilight. The End. **

_Chapter Eight—BPOV_

"Ugh," I moaned, rubbing the sleep from my vision, sitting in my truck that I had parked some ways in the woods.

_Maybe I wouldn't go to school today… _

I debated pros and cons of going but couldn't seem to remember one important fact: what day of the week it was.

_What day of the week was it really?_

Well, that meant I didn't have to go, didn't it? Besides, education, pssssh, who cared about that? Oh yeah, truancy officers.

I had been in one school for the past three years and all it had taught me was pain.

_I could do without that lesson, thanks very much, Ari. _

So I stretched my back like a cat would—except for the, you know, wings I had—yawned, and decided I wouldn't go.

Maybe it was a weekend anyway.

Whoa—how sad was it that I didn't know the day of the week?

I mean, you had to make exceptions, I was being chased across the country by wolf mutants that wanted to take me back to the School. I wasn't sure how much longer I could go on.

I was on my own, no Flock, no friends—the Cullens were definitely not my friends, by the way—

And speaking of the Cullens, I needed to pack up and get out of here. Hadn't I told them I would be going soon?

_It wasn't like I had much to pack anyway,_ I thought as I rolled my parka up and tucked it under my arm.

The slits in my t-shirt enabled my wings to stretch—no one came into the woods at around 8:00 AM anyway.

I took a few things from the truck , the little money I had left, an extra t-shirt, and that was about it.

I laced up my sneakers tightly—who knew if I would need to run soon?—threw my hair up into a pony-tail, and sighed.

If I wasn't going to school today, then I might as well leave town, right? I had no need to stick around.

Though, I was really going to miss my truck. It was red and rusty, probably ages old, but I could listen to the radio and drive to school like a normal kid.

Oh well.

I stretched my wings out again experimentally, seeing if I could just fly right out of here.

I could.

I took a deep breath, inhaling smoothly. I felt like an outlaw, no place to call home, or friends to care for anymore, always on the run.

I felt a little spark of anger at the Flock—I had thought they would rescue me, but they hadn't. I was used to it by now though, I had no prince on a white horse, I had only myself.

So, I exhaled, leaned forward on the balls of my feet, and lifted up into the—

"Wait!" I heard a shout.

_Whoa, whoa, whoa—rewind._

A shout. Which meant someone saw me.

I landed on the ground in shock, but luckily on my feet.

All of the Cullens stood in front of me. Or every Cullen except for Esme and Carlisle, I realized, looking over their group.

"You're leaving?" Alice gasped, an almost betrayed look in her eyes. "I thought you weren't planning to leave for a while."

"Well," I shrugged, unable to think of a good answer.

"Is that all you have to say? 'Well'?" she retorted.

"Alice, leave the poor girl alone," Edward interrupted, a light gleam in his gold eyes. He seemed to be perfectly happy but there was a melancholy air around him.

I frowned unconsciously and then wondered why.

"So?" Rosalie prompted.

"What?" I asked, my mind a bit befuddled.

"You're leaving," Alice repeated.

"Yeah," I said bluntly.

"Why?" Jasper asked, a curious light shining through his voice.

"Forks is just another town," I told them. "I mean, I probably managed to find one of the few towns where a family of vampires live, but I need to move again."

"For what purpose?" Edward asked.

_Are we playing 20 questions or something?_

But I answered anyway. "You know, I have people out to kill or capture me. They can't find me if I move around a lot."

I paused, and then continued. "Actually, scratch that. They can probably find me regardless. But it helps."

"Out to kill you?" his voice was rough now, but just as melodic.

I glared at him, a feat hard to do with his angelic features. "Enough with the questions."

Alice interrupted our little argument. "Don't leave."

For a second, just a second, I considered staying. No one had asked to me to stay before. No one had bothered.

But my bitter, practical side whispered that I couldn't leave all my troubles by staying—in fact, my troubles would just grow. And I couldn't allow the School to find out that vampires existed.

"Sorry," I muttered eventually, somehow ashamed of my answer. "I can't."

"You can't or you won't?" Rosalie bit off.

_Did she actually want me to stay?_

I wavered at her question, but finally answered truthfully. "I won't."

"Why?" Alice asked. "You can stay here—maybe even have fun. It would be peaceful."

I wanted to snort, _peaceful_? What world did she live in?

"Look," I said after some thought, "I'm not leaving because of you. I just can't stick around. That's usually how it is with outlaws and such."

"You're an outlaw?" There was an air of disbelief and laughter in Rosalie's voice.

"No," I said defensively. "I don't even exist to the government on a certain level so how could I get in trouble with the law?"

_Crap. Another thing I spilled that I wasn't supposed to._

"You don't exist to the government?" Edward asked, staring through me.

I pretended to look at an imaginary watch on my wrist and tapped my feet. "Well, look at the time. I really need to be going."

For a second, it was silent as I stood facing them.

Alice smiled sadly. "You really are leaving, aren't you?"

I had been about to reply to her question when, from above in the sky, I heard the sound of mechanical voices and saw the red of robot eyes.

"We will kill you," the robots said in unison.

_Whoa… _

Oh, since Erasers won't cut it, they send flying robots?

_Great. I'm honored. Truly. _

**A/N: Flyboys enter the picture! Dun dun dun…**

**And, OHMYGOD, I am**___**SO**_** sorry! I stink at updating and I had a major case of writer's block. If you want the long, rant version of my apology, look at the top A/N.**

**Review if you forgive me for the long wait? Please, I want to hear your thoughts. **


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